Lock for refrigerator doors



1947- A. H. GROEGER LOCK FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS Filed June 9, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INENTOR. fl/fred H Groeger ATTORNEY Feb. 11, 1947.

A. H. GROEGER LOCK FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS Z Sheecs-Sheet 2 Filed June 9, 1944 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 11, 1947 UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE LOOK FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS Alfred-H. Groeger, New Hyde Park, N Y., assignor. to Kasoni Hardware Corporation, Brooklyn,-

Application-June 9, 1944,Serial-No. 53'9,432*

11 claims- 1 This invention relates to looks for refrigerator doors and the like articles.

Locks for refri'gerator doors usually comprise a spring-pressedlatch to engage .a keeper or striker on the door jamb, and. a :handle to retract the latch; The. handles are-usually 'formed with a hole registering with? holes in the latch casing to receivea pad lock 'forretaining the latch inv within therefrigerator-to push. open the handle with the usualtpush rodfor. such. purpose. Some refrigeraton locks are not 1 provided. with any means for.pushing open the handle from the inside.-- Sometimes -.theperson enters such. arefrigerator, and the door closes accidentallyso that.

the person inside has no meanswhatsoeverof openin the -,.door. It is therefore..an-,.obiect of thisinvention to provide.a refrigerator lock so.-

constructedthat itmay be opened from the insideoft-therefrigerator evenlif. a..-pin is passed. through theregistering. openings in the handle and latchcasing, or .if..the usual padlock is'appliedto lock the latch.

the outside.

Yet another object of this. invention" is to providea strong., rugged, and durable lock' of the character described which shall be'relatively-in' expensive .to' manufacture; easy to manipulate, safe and .positivein use; and yet practical and efficient to a high degree.

Other objects of this invention will in part' be' obvious and in part hereinafterpointed out;

The invention accordingl consists -in-the-=-features of construction, combinationsofelements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafterdescribedjand of which the scope of application will'be-indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying -drawings,-in-;which"are shown various possible illustrative embodiments of thisinvention,

Fig. :1 is a-horizontal:crossesectionaliviewrof thes. refrigerator door and do'or jamb:provided:with an.

A thief entering a 21, 100k embodying the invention and with parts in crosssection;

Fig; 2.is a cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;:

Fig. '3 is .aniinside elevational view of the vrefrigerator *doorshowing the means for opening the door from the inside;

Fig 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4+4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 isa partial viewof the lock and refrigerator door embodying theginvention and i11us-- trating a modified construction;

Fi 6 is aninside view "of .the door shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional .view taken .on--1ine 14 of Fig. 6;" and Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but illustrating.

still another modified construction.

Referring .:n-ow in detail to the drawings,- ii! designates a refrigerator door and l l a door jamb.

Attached to the door lamb i i is a striker or keeper !2 :of usual. construction. Attached to the door i0 is a refrigerator door lock M embodyingthe invention.

The same comprises a casing liiattaohedto the front of the door 10 as by screws iii. The casing; I 5 has afront .wall- I! formedwitha through opening l8. Said casing also has an end wall i9 1 formed with a through opening 26 registering with opening '28.- Slidably mounted'within openings i5, ZEl-of thecasing is' a usual spring-pressed latch 251 Extending rearwardiy from the easing .is a flat wall-22 econtacting the door and formed with a boss "23 having a socket 24. 22 is formedwith -.a through. opening 25 at the bottom: of socket 24. Rearwardly of opening 25 is another through opening 26 through wall 22, for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

Housing 5 5 is forniedlwith parallel spacediwalls '21 forming a slot there'cetween. Supported by walls 2? is a pivot in 2i3. Pivotedito the pin is, ahandle 29 Handle 29 has an armifi -.extending into casing -55 and-passingthrough an open.- ing; in the-latch .2 i. overlying socket 2 in Extending from boss 324saweb 3tdisposedin a plane diametricwith-respect to openiriglti- Web. 33 is formed-iwith an opening (it. The door! .is-.formed.with; a through opening 16a registeringwith :opening iifi. It also isformed with 'fimSfiCOIld through opening lfibiparailel to steam mounted on tthe door is. a releasable Wall Handle 29j1-has a boss 32' lock member 40. Lock member 40 has a stem 4| received within socket I and formed with an internally screw threaded axial opening 42. Extending from stem 4| is a slotted head 43 comprising parallel walls 44 disposed on opposite sides of web 33 and forming a slot 45 therebetween to receive said web. Walls 44 are formed with through openings 45 registering with opening 34. Head 43 has a front surface 43a contacting the rear surface 23a of boss 23. Thus member 40 cannot rotate but can only be moved outwardly out of socket lllc.

Means is provided to fix member 49 to the refrigerator door. To this end there is fixed to the inside of the door, a plate 59 formed with a central through opening 5| registering with opening Illa. Plate 50 is furthermore formed with an opening 52 registering with opening lllb. Said plate may be attached to the door by screws 53 or in any other suitable manner. Said plate 50 is furthermore formed on the inner surface thereof with a groove 55 extending upwardly for the purpose hereinafter appearing. Extending through openings 52 and lflb is a screw 5? screwed to the screw threaded opening 42 of member 40. At one end of screw 51 is a polygonal head 59. It will now be understood that when screw 51 is screwed to member 40, member 49 is retained in position so that if a padlock is placed through the registering openings 34, 45 the lock cannot be opened through the outside of the re frigerator.

Extending through registering openings 5| and la is a push rod 60. The same has a shank BI and a handle or head 52 at its inner end. The shank 6| passes through the registering openings 5|, |9a and 25. At its forward end is an enlarged head 65 within socket 24. It will now be understood that when there is no padlock on the lock, a person on the inside of the refrigerator may open the door by pushing on rod 60 to retract the latch. However, should a pin or screw be inserted through the registering openings 34, 46 or if a padlock is placed on the lock, the door cannot be opened from the inside by pushing on the push rod 50. The door can be opened however, by unscrewing screw 5'! until it is released from member 49. Then the push rod 60 may be pushed forwardly even if member 49 is connected to the handle by something inserted through the openings 34, 46. Upon pushing the push rod BB the handle will swing open and member 49 will be pushed out of the socket We, and the latch will be retracted.

'For the purpose of safety, a wrench 19 may be mounted on the inside of door H). The wrench it may have a wrench socket H at one end and may be inserted within slot 55 to lie against the door. A pin or screw '12 attached to door l9 may pass through a key slot l5 for mounting the wrench on the door. Thus if a thief should form the proprietor of a butcher shop or the like, into a refrigerator and then insert a pin or screw into the registering openings 34, 46, in an attempt to lock the proprietor within the refrigerator, the door may nevertheless be opened from the inside of the refrigerator.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 there is shown a modified construction. The door lock I4 is the same as described above. However, some refrigerator doors are not provided with a push rod. In such event there is substituted for the wrench 10 a wrench 8.9 which can serve to unscrew the screw 51; and also itserves as a push rod to push the door handle to open position." To this end the with a shutter 90 to close opening 9| therein registering with the opening Illa in the door.

In Fig. 8 there is shown still another modified construction. In Fig. 8 the door lock I4 is the same as described above. However, the door is not provided with any through opening lila for a push rod. In such case the screw 51 can be unscrewed by the combination wrench and push rod which may be hung on any suitable screw or pin 95 on the inside of the door. The wrench 80 may thus be used to unscrew the screw 51. Said screw can thus be removed from the door and the rod portion pushed through the opening I02: and pressed against the rear of member 40 to swing out the handle.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a' device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A refrigerator door lock comprising a casing, a spring-pressed latch on said casing, means to retract said latch, a member releasably attached to said casing and having an opening, said retracting means having an opening registering with the opening in said member.

2. A refrigerator door lock comprising 2. casing, a spring-pressed latch on said casing, means to retract said latch, a member having an opening, said retracting means having an opening registering with the opening in said member, said member having a screw threaded opening, and a screw adapted to pass through the refrigerator door, and screwed to the screw threaded opening in said member, said member being movable with said retracting means upon unscrewing said screw from said member.

3. A refrigerator door lock comprising a casing, a spring-pressed latch on said casing, means to retract said latch, a, member having an opening, said retracting means having an opening registering with the opening in said member, said member having a screw threaded opening, and a screw adapted to pass through the refrigerator door, and screwed to the screw threaded opening in said member, said screw having a head on the inside of the door.

4. A refrigerator door lock comprising a casing adapted to be attached to the refrigerator door, a spring-pressed latch on said casing, means to retract said latch including a handle, means adapted to pass through the door for moving the handle to latch retracted position, said handle having an extension formed with an opening, a member movable with respect to the casing and having an opening registering with the opening in said extension, and means to fix said member against movement relative to said casing.

5. A refrigerator door lock comprising a casing adapted to be attached to the refrigerator door, a spring-pressed latch on said casing, means to retract said latch including a handle, means adapted to pass through the door for moving the handle to latch retracted position, said handle having an extension formed with an opening, a member movable with respect to the casing, and having an opening registering with the opening in said extension, and means to fix said member against movement relative to said casing, said last means comprising a screw adapted to extend through the door and screwed to said member.

6. A refrigerator door lock comprising a latch, means to retract the latch, a member movable relative to the refrigerator door, means to lock said retracting means to said member, and releasable means to attach said member to the door.

7. A door lock comprising a casing adapted to be attached to the door, a latch on said casing, said casing being provided with an extension formed with a through opening, means to retract said latch comprising a handle pivoted to the casing and having an arm engaging said latch, said handle having a portion overlying said through opening, an extension on said handle, formed with an opening, said extension on said casing having a second opening, a member having a portion projecting into said second opening in said casing extension, said member having an opening registering with the opening in the handle extension.

8. A door lock comprising a casing adapted to beattached to the door, a latch on said casing, said casing being provided with an extension formed with a through opening, means to retract said latch comprising a handle pivoted to the casing and having an arm engaging said latch, said handle having a portion overlying said through opening, an extension on said handle, formed with an opening, said extension on said casing having a second opening, a member having a portion projecting into said second opening in said casing extension, said member having an opening registering with the opening in the handle extension, and a push rod on the door passing through the first opening in said casing extension.

9. A door lock comprising a casing adapted to be attached to the door, a latch on said casing, said casing being provided with an extension formed with a through opening, means to retract said latch comprising a handle pivoted to the easin and having an arm engaging said latch, said handle having a portion overlying said through opening, an extension on said handle, formed with an opening, said extension on said casing having a second opening, a, member having a portion projecting into said second opening in said casing extension, said member having an opening registering with the opening in the handle extension, and a screw passing through the opening in the door and screwed to said member.

10. A refrigerator door lock comprising a spring pressed latch, means to retract the latch, a member, releasable means for attaching said member to a refrigerator door, means to connect the re tracting means to said member, said attaching means being adapted to extend to the inside of the door so that it can be released from the inside of the door.

11. A refrigerator door lock comprising a casing adapted to be attached to a refrigerator door, a spring pressed latch on said casing, means to retract said latch, including a handle, a member mounted on the casing and having an opening, said handle having an opening registering with said first opening, and a screw adapted to pass through the door and screwed to said member for fixing said member to said door, said member being movable relative to said casing upon unscrewing said screw from said member.

ALFRED H. GROEGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,884,722 Katz Oct. 25, 1932 2,007,854 Grill July 9, 1935 1,070,402 Brunnacker Aug. 19, 1913 

